Commercialization of stretch of river is decried by neighbor.

Tree houses built on property owned by Jeff Henry, one of the principals of Schlitterbahn water park, are models for tree house dwellings to built at the park. Tuesday, March 1, 2011. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.net

Photo By BILLY CALZADA/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Jeff Henry, one of the principals of Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels, climbs the stairs of one of the tree houses which he has built on his property as prototypes of those to be built at Schlitterbahn. Tuesday, March 1, 2011. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.net

Photo By BILLY CALZADA

An earthmover works on a portion of the new river walk being built along the Comal River on the south end of Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels on March 1.

Photo By Express-News graphic

Photo By BILLY CALZADA/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Jeff Henry, one of the principals of Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels, shows a portion of a treehouse on his home property.

Photo By BILLY CALZADA

Workmen work on a wall at Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels.

Photo By BILLY CALZADA

Jeff Henry, one of the principals of Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels, stands amid the treehouses built on his property by his home.

Photo By BILLY CALZADA

A bedroom in the loft of a treehouse on the property of Jeff Henry, one of the principals of Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels. Tree houses very similar to this one will be built on the property.

Photo By BILLY CALZADA

A freshly grated area that will become the Schlitterbahn river walk sits across the water from dwellings across from the water park.

Photo By BILLY CALZADA

A treehouse begins to take shape on the property of Jeff Henry, one of the principals of Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels. Similar tree houses are to be part of the park's expansion.

Photo By BILLY CALZADA

Workers put together the "Boogie Bay" water attraction at Schlitterbahn on March 1.

Schlitterbahn's first and biggest water park will expand this summer in New Braunfels with additions that include a new lazy river and treehouse-themed resort rooms that will look out over the Comal River.

But the project also is upsetting Vicki Wimberly Martin, whose home will have a direct view of the latest addition.

Wimberly Martin, 50, lives on East Coll Street along the river and directly across from the park's construction site. Her family has been there since the 1960s.

She says the commercialization of that part of the riverfront will bring loud, boisterous tourists too close to her backyard.

“This is the only last really natural, beautiful part of the river,” Wimberly Martin said. “I learned how to swim in this river when I was 7 or 8. Every rock, hole, bend and tree has a memory for me. I was a little river rat.”

Wimberly Martin, the only resident who has openly complained about the project, said crews have made the riverfront an eyesore in recent weeks as they tear down dozens of trees and move dirt at the site.

Schlitterbahn officials said they plan to replant the trees and use the logs they tear down for a dozen resort houses they plan to build at the site.

Another resident, who has lived on East Coll for eight years, said that although some residents are unhappy with the expansion, “the best thing to do is ignore it” because of Schlitterbahn's economic impact.

“They generate a lot of money for the city,” the 64-year-old resident said, declining to give his name. “We just go out of town in the summer to avoid the yelling and the screaming and the singing from the buses that pass by here.”

Park officials said the project's goal is simple: to build a better park for customers.

Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort is an economic giant in this city founded by German settlers. The New Braunfels park has the highest attendance of any water park in the United States, park officials said.

The new section will run along the Comal on the west side of the park. It will have a lazy river and 12 new resort rooms called Treehauses built out of recycled materials and live vegetation.

“I understand it's hard to see now,” said Jeff Henry, part owner of the New Braunfels park. “But (Wimberly Martin) will love it.”

At the site of the new section, which will be called “Tubenbach” once it is complete, 68 cabins were removed to be reconfigured for a hotel at the site, Henry said.

The site currently has a swimming pool, a heated pool, a pavilion with food and beverage operations and a game room. Those features will remain at the site, and crews will build the lazy river and new resort rooms around them.

The 65-acre park opened in 1979.

It has seven children's water playgrounds, 17 water slides, a surfing machine and three uphill water coasters.

It's divided into three sections: Blastenhoff, on the east side; Schlitterbahn West, on the northwest; and Surfenburg, in the middle.

Park officials say that while the construction will be difficult for residents, the end result will pay off.

“We have the right to build what we're building on this land,” Henry said. “We're following zoning regulations.”